James Horner, Composer, Presumed Dead In Plane Crash

Los Angeles (CNN)Academy Award-winning composer James Horner, known for his impressive body of work spanning multiple movie genres, is feared dead after a small plane belonging to him crashed in central California on Monday, killing the pilot.

It is not known whether the 61-year-old Horner, best known for scoring the movie "Titanic," was the person flying the plane. Horner's lawyer couldn't confirm his death, but said he hadn't heard from the composer since the crash. "He is an experienced pilot. He owns several planes. We have not heard from him," Jay Cooper told CNN.

Horner won two Oscars for his work on the 1997 James Cameron-directed "Titanic" -- earning best original dramatic score and best original song for the Celine Dion classic, "My Heart Will Go On."

He was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times and wrote the music for numerous blockbusters, including "Braveheart," "Apollo 13" and "The Amazing Spider-Man." He collaborated again with Cameron for 2009's "Avatar," the top-grossing film of all time.

Reaction to his reported death was immediate, with celebrities who worked with him posting condolences.

"Brilliant Composer James Horner, friend & collaborator on 7 movies has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart aches for his loved ones," tweeted Ron Howard, who directed "Apollo 13."

Leona Lewis, who worked with Horner on the theme for "Avatar," said working with the composer "was one of the biggest moments of my life."

"He was such a kind soul, I'm so saddened," she tweeted.

The single-engine S312 Tucano crashed under unknown circumstances near Cuyama, about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, on Monday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The debris field from the crash was scattered across a roughly 1-acre area in a dry riverbed, said Mike Eliason, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. The aircraft caught fire on impact, and the flames spread to the surrounding vegetation, he said. Firefighters who arrived on the scene were able to quickly put the fire out, but the occupant of the plane had died on impact, Eliason said. The pilot was the only person on board, the FAA said.

Horner composed music for more than 75 films, making his feature-film debut in 1982 in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

In addition to the accolades he earned for "Titanic," Horner won Grammy Awards for "Somewhere Out There" from "An American Tail" in 1987 and "Glory" in 1990. He also composed the music for such 1980s classics as "Field of Dreams," "Cocoon" and James Cameron's "Aliens" in 1986.